EVERETT – When Joshua, the warrior of biblical times, set out to capture the city of Jericho, he made sure the Israelites were armed with shofars, ram horns used to blow the battle cry.
The city’s thick walls crumbled, according to the story revered by Christians and Jews, and the Israelites prevailed.
Now, the flat tone of the shofar is heard in Jewish temples as a call to worship.
Today, Rabbi Yossi Mandel of the Chabad Jewish Center of Snohomish County will host a workshop on making shofars.
The workshop, to be held in Lions Hall in Forest Park, is part of the first event at the SnoJewish Meeting Place, which Mandel hopes to host every few months.
“We are welcoming everyone, though we hope that those of Jewish heritage who may have drifted away or don’t know much about their heritage will come and be able to enjoy it,” Mandel said.
The day will also feature special foods eaten on Jewish High Holy Days, a children’s story hour and So Delicious kosher ice cream from Oregon-based Turtle Mountain company, a sponsor of the event. Turtle Mountain will also sponsor a raffle for a free trip to Israel.
The SnoJewish Meeting Place events are designed to be a welcoming atmosphere for those who may not want to enter a temple, Mandel said.
“It’s a nonthreatening way to do something Jewish,” he said.
Mandel and his family came to Everett last year through the Chabad Lubovitch movement to establish an Orthodox Jewish community in Snohomish County. Temple Beth Or, a Reform Jewish temple, is the only other official Jewish community in the county.
Jewish meeting
The SnoJewish Meeting Place will be held from 2 to 5 p.m. today at Lions Hall at Forest Park, 802 Mukilteo Blvd., Everett. Admission and refreshments are free. There is a $7 fee to make a shofar.
For more information, call 425-353-7377 or e-mail Rabbi Yossi Mandel at rabbi@snojewish.org.
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